Saturday Briefing

By Una Murray

The annual Digicel Coral Coast Carnival was held from 17 to 24 October, and included a float parade and various performances throughout the day. The event finale was the much anticipated crowning of the Miss Digicel Coral Coast Queen. The competition for the crown was strong this year, with six Queens vying for the title.

The Digicel sponsorship of the Coral Coast Carnival encompasses much of what Digicel is passionate about — bringing communities together through the arts, education, and cultural activities.

Moreen Sharma was crowned the Digicel Coral Coast 2009 Queen

On Saturday night at Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka, over 3,000 spectators gathered to watch as Miss Outrigger on the Lagoon – Fiji Moreen Sharma was crowned the Miss Digicel Coral Coast 2009 Queen by chief guest Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum, Fiji’s Attorney General and Minister of Tourism. Part of the prize package included a trip to Australia—and Moreen cannot wait to go.

Moreen cried tears of joy as her name was announced and dedicated her victory to her parents and family and the Outrigger vuvale (family) who provided her with support and encouragement.

As part of the competition, each contestant must choose a community project to support. Moreen’s project was to raise funds to paint all the classrooms at Sigatoka Methodist School and Sigatoka District School and buy new furniture for both Schools.
Moreen works as a Talai Butler Service Coordinator. In this position, she is responsible for organizing the butler service, greeting guests, setting-up meetings, and fulfilling guest requests.

Moreen Sharma on the Outrigger on the Lagoon - Fiji’s award-winning float

Moreen wasn’t the only one competing. The Outrigger team was also looking for a repeat of last year’s win in the float competition. The team worked very hard to create a beautiful float, and their efforts paid off when, for the second year in a row, they took home the award for “Best Float.”

A special thank you to all the vuvale who worked so hard on creating our award-winning float; and congratulations to Queen Moreen — you have made us all very proud!